Page 21 of Damian’s Conquest

“Okay, let’s speed through it.”

As they sped through the recording, they slowed it only when somebody stopped in front of the storeroom. At first it was Tanja, who at shortly before eleven o’clock entered the storeroom, using her key. About ten minutes later, she came back out, and she didn’t carry anything with her when she exited and locked the door.

“Probably took her break and drank a bottle,” Patrick guessed and pointed to the screen. “With her dominatrix outfit, she can’t even hide a single bottle on her let alone a crate.”

“True.” Damian let the tape run, when suddenly a person in a red cape with a hood entered the corridor. Her cape was drawn deep over her head, so the camera couldn’t capture her face, but he knew who this was: Naomi. What the hell was she doing in a corridor that could only be reached through a door marked Employees Only?

“Who’s that?” Patrick asked.

“No idea,” Damian lied, and continued watching as Naomi tested the handle to the storeroom, then disappeared back in the same direction she’d come from.

“Odd,” Patrick said. “Particularly since I saw you making out with a woman in a red cape. So you don’t know who that is?”

Fuck! Damian scrambled for an explanation. “Listen, she was so drunk, she probably couldn’t find her way to the restroom.” He hated to lie to his friend and co-manager, but until he knew what Naomi had really been doing at the club the previous night, he wouldn’t give anything away.

“Oh, yeah?” Patrick shook his head. “Is that why she practically let you fuck her on the dance floor?”

“I didn’t fuck her on—”

Patrick’s laughter interrupted him. “Oh my God, you’re so easy to rile up today. Didn’t get any last night, huh? Did she pass out before you could get down to business?”

“No woman passes out when I fuck her. Believe me, she was fully awake for the entire performance,” Damian shot back. The words were out before he knew what he was saying.

“So why not say so right away?”

“Because it’s none of your fucking business.” Then he pointed back to the screen. “Shall we continue, or shall we discuss your sexual exploits from last night, if there were any?”

“Ouch, I’m wounded,” Patrick said in a mocking tone. “But contrary to you, I don’t keep my exploits a secret.” He gestured to the monitor. “Let’s see who took the blood, so I can go home and get some rest. After all, I was busy taking care of two women last night.”

Damian rolled his eyes. He wasn’t going to start a contest who’d had more sex, he or Patrick. Instead, he sped through the tape again. This time, Andrew in his police uniform shorts appeared at the door to the storeroom. But he wasn’t alone. A handsome man dressed as a sexy pharaoh was with him. They disappeared in the storeroom together.

“Maybe we should tell Andrew that his breaks aren’t there for him to have sex in the storeroom,” Patrick suggested.

“Do you really care whom he fucks and where, as long as it’s not out in the open?”

Patrick shrugged. “I thought you cared.”

Right now, Damian cared only about two things: to find out who’d taken the crate of human blood, and why Naomi had really come to the club.

The time stamp on the recording showed 3:17 a.m. when a figure dressed in a black-and-white Harlequin costume with a Venetian facemask showed up in front of the storeroom and unlocked it. Moments later, the person came back out, this time carrying a large crate, and disappeared via the back exit.

“Fuck! There’s our thief,” Patrick said.

“Were any of the staff wearing that costume last night?” Damian asked, even though he already knew the answer.

“Not that I saw. Though I didn’t see what Orlando was wearing, since I entered via the back.”

“He didn’t wear a costume. And this person”—he pointed to the screen—“is way too small to be Orlando anyway. More like the size of a woman, now that I’m looking more closely.”

Patrick nodded. “You’re right. The coat check girls?”

Damian shook his head. “Beth was dressed as a nurse, and Melanie as a flapper. Though either one of them could have slipped the Harlequin outfit over her costume. But at that time, the two of them would have been so busy at the coat check with lots of people leaving between three and four. If one of the girls had left, it would have been noticed.”

“Good point. We should talk to them. Separately. I volunteer.”

“Sure you do.” But Damian was glad for it, because he knew that Beth liked him a little too much, and he didn’t want to be alone with her. “I’ll talk to Orlando, see if he noticed anything. And the bartenders. Are they still here, cleaning up?”

“No. They left a half hour ago. I just let the daytime cleaning crew in.”